Cargolux and Qatar Airways say that the Doha-based airline is buying a 35 percent stake in the Luxembourg freight carrier, without disclosing the terms of the deal.

The two airlines said Thursday that the acquisition marks the beginning of a “strategic partnership” between the two companies and allows the state of Luxembourg to divest the stake it bought as part of a restructuring of Cargolux in 2009.

Other state-owned investment groups in Luxembourg are also selling down their stakes.

Qatar Airways Chairman Sheikh Hamad Jassim Bin Jabr Al Thani said Thursday that the company’s “investment in Europe’s leading cargo carrier Cargolux boosts our ambition to become one of the major players in air freight by 2015.”

source: AP